Letters to the Editor - Help with hurricane recovery

Posted:
09/25/2017 11:17:36 AM MDT

Those who lived in the Estes Valley during the floods of 2013 will never forget. In a matter of a few days, lives were changed. Our friends, neighbors and business associates faced hardships and some lost everything. Natural disasters are a grim reminder of how quickly circumstances spin out of control and we must look to others for help.

I'm writing to echo the Trail Gazette's call to help (Editorial titled Give back by helping hurricane victims, Sept. 18, 2017) and share a bit about my experience.

After our floods, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado quickly created the Flood Relief Fund to accept donations to help in the recovery process for all communities in Larimer County. In a remarkable display of generosity — over $1.825 million was raised including a $750,000 match by Bohemian Foundation — and nonprofits providing services in the Estes Valley received grants of over $1.2 million from that fund. As volunteer members of the Estes Valley Community Fund Committee of the CFNC, Judy Nystrom, Chuck Levine and I served as local representatives in the process of grantmaking. Four years later, it has been gratifying to know where each dollar went, and to be able to see first-hand what a difference those funds made to help the Estes Valley recover.

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These dollars truly made an impact, and in some instances, have been cited as the difference between recovering and giving up. It's my hope that those affected by the 2017 hurricanes will receive the same type of compassionate assistance.

Over the years, our Community Foundation has established relationships with other foundations throughout the country. Our president, Ray Caraway, hails from Louisiana, and has maintained connections to that region. The dollars raised by Colorado residents, businesses and private foundations — generously matched by Bohemian Foundation — will be entrusted to nonprofit organizations that are locally connected, to get the funds to those who need it the most.

Gifts made to Colorado's Hurricane Recovery Fund, established by the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, will help nonprofit organizations address intermediate and long-term recovery needs in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, U.S. Territories, and other areas affected by hurricanes.

To donate online, visit NoCoFoundation.org. To have a personal conversation regarding a gift, please contact the Community Foundation at 970-224-3462. Checks may be made payable to the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, memo Hurricane Recovery, and sent to 4745 Wheaton Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80525. Donations made to the fund by midnight on Nov. 1, 2017 are eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match by Bohemian Foundation, up to $3 million.

To date, over 500 separate donations have been made, including from individuals and groups that have held fundraisers. All these donations from Coloradoans will be matched.

Randy Davis

Estes Valley Community Relations Coordinator

Regarding upcoming Highway 34 closure

Highway 34 between Estes Park and Loveland isn't going to be closed out of tangible necessity, only out of convenience. In fact, emergency vehicles can use it at anytime. We get this, dealing with traffic can be a huge hassle, but the fact remains, there is still a road there. In addition, this road is open to local traffic for at least 5.5 hours each day! Is it really that big of a jump to allow anyone to use the road during these times? This would alleviate the vast majority of commuter problems and allow for some visitor access to Estes Park.

The need for restricting public use during the closure has not been demonstrated. In fact, there isn't really a closure, it's just easier to restrict access by calling it that. Frankly, I expect better from CDOT and Kiewit. I expect some reasonable accommodation for canyon residents, commuters and visitors.

Many of us remember the Highway 36 project where even blasting times couldn't be determined ahead of time. Many, many times us commuters would check our email early in the morning for the days schedule to find "maximum 15 minute delays" indicated, only to find ourselves stuck for an hour waiting for a blast and the cleanup that followed. Of course, we did notice the CDOT personnel sitting in their vehicles at the project site nearly every day and wondered why they couldn't get out and talk to the folks with the dynamite. I hope you all understand the skepticism many of us share regarding the implementation and management of projects like this.

I would like to remind CDOT and Kiewit that projects like this affect people, real human beings. For many, their daily routine becomes dominated by a commute that induces significant stress, for others it tangibly affects their livelihood. For many, commuting is an absolute necessity. It's not clear to me that the decision makers understand the significance of U.S. 34 to the community of Estes Park.

I formally requested that anyone be able to use the canyon during the times that it is scheduled to be open for canyon residents and that delays be kept to an absolute minimum during those times, but I received no response from CDOT.

Art Messal

Estes Park

Preserve patient protections

My name is Joshua Tabin and I am an advocate for the community of individuals impacted by celiac disease/non-celiac gluten/wheat sensitivity. I write to urge you to stand with us to ensure the stability for chronic disease patients as the Senate considers healthcare reform. It is my hope that the Senate will preserve key patient protections and respect the circumstances of those combating chronic illnesses.

Any proposal must pursue common-sense reforms to ACA through a process that allows input from all the key stakeholders, including, and especially, patients.

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